Searching for Treasures in the Clouds

Chapter 438 Deng Huairou is imprisoned

A few days before the trial of Xu Yao and Deng Huairou,

Deng Huairou's husband received information about the legal team representing the person suing Deng Huairou: a national-level intellectual property lawyer, a criminal and civil law expert, and a forensic expert consultant. All were well-known figures in the legal profession. More importantly, these individuals were from the legal department of Xingxing Group's parent company, meaning they were backed by the Yun family, the most powerful family in Shuicheng.

Although his territory wasn't in Shuicheng, but in a city surrounding it, the Yun family's influence was immense, so it wouldn't be a problem for them to extend their reach to him.

Because the person she was dealing with was connected to the Yun family, Deng Huairou's husband lost his temper with her for the first time.

He was reviewing documents sent by his subordinates in his study. Before he had even finished reading them, he angrily picked up a vase on the table, intending to smash it on the ground. However, he managed to restrain himself, put the vase down, and instead picked up a tissue box and threw it on the ground.

"Deng Huairou, I usually go along with whatever you do, but you can't be so arrogant and provoke everyone! What are you still hiding? The person who sued you, how come the lawyer they hired is from the legal department of Xingxing Group? Do you know that whether our family's business can operate normally depends on their word?"

Deng Huairou froze at first, her brows furrowed, her eyes momentarily blank before slowly hardening. After a long pause, she finally asked, "What Xingxing Group?"

"The Xingxing Group in Shuicheng is controlled by the only son of the second branch of the Yun family. You should have heard of the Yun family when you go to those gatherings of rich ladies, right? The people that employee who wants to sue you hired to help her are the elite legal team under the Yun family. We have no chance of winning this case. If a miracle happens and we win, neither your family nor my family can expect to survive."

After digesting the news her husband brought, Deng Huairou's face showed panic. "How could this be? I investigated, and Xu Yao is clearly just a small-town test-taker with no background."

"Heh..." The man snorted coldly, amused by his anger. "In ancient times, emperors would travel incognito to search for talent. Now, she's infiltrating a design company. Is that so strange? I told you long ago that you should keep a low profile when you're out in the world, so as not to offend the wrong people. Now look what's happened, both our families might be implicated because of you."

"Husband, I..." Deng Huairou had never seen her man so fierce towards her, with such a cold expression. She stepped forward, wanting to hug him and act coquettishly as usual, but the man stopped her, "Huairou, I can't handle this anymore, you go to jail."

"What? Honey, you want me to go to jail? What are you thinking? Chengcheng is still so young, how can she manage without me by her side?" Deng Huairou's face completely lost its pleasant expression.

During their argument, Cheng Youli opened the study door, poked her little head in, looked at her parents with a puzzled expression, and asked, "Mom and Dad, what's wrong?"

When Deng Huairou saw her son, for some reason, her nose tingled and tears streamed down her face. She rushed to Cheng Youli, knelt down, and hugged him tightly, "Chengcheng..."

Cheng Youli looked at her anxiously, "Mom, what's wrong? Did Dad bully you?"

Deng Huairou shook his head and just cried.

The man was clearly surprised to see her cry. Since their marriage, he had never seen her cry, or even show any vulnerability. This woman was always arrogant and domineering. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.

"Mom, what's wrong? Why are you crying? Is something hurting?" Cheng Youli patted Deng Huairou's shoulder.

Deng Huairou didn't say anything, but silently hugged Cheng Youli even tighter.

……

Under the influence of the Yun family's legal department, Deng Huairou unsurprisingly went to jail. She threatened not only Xu Yao, but many others, involving over a million yuan, and was convicted of multiple crimes including extortion, forced trading, and copyright infringement. The court handed down the maximum sentence, concluding the multiple offenses, sentencing her to ten years in prison and fining her 1.2 million yuan.

After being sentenced, people aren't immediately sent to prison. They have to wait for the execution notice and judgment to be delivered to the designated location, where the detention center gathers a batch of prisoners for unified transfer. Yu Ru found some time and, through connections, secretly went to the detention center to check on Deng Huairou's situation.

From a distance, she saw Deng Huairou, who had once humiliated her so severely, now looking haggard and worn. She was wearing a uniform blue vest with the detention center's name printed on it, and her once well-maintained, lustrous long curly hair had been cut into a short bob. She was bare-faced and her complexion was ashen.

Seeing her like this, Yu Ru felt no triumphant joy, no pleasure, not even a trace of emotion. She watched quietly for a few seconds, then turned and left.

As she turned around, Deng Huairou looked up and around as if sensing something, but didn't see anyone special. It was as if the feeling of being stared at was just her imagination.

As Yu Ru left the detention center, the bodyguard who had been waiting at the door greeted her, "Madam, shall we go home now?"

She was about to nod when she felt a gaze fall on her, so she didn't respond. She turned her head to look to the side and saw Xu Yao standing not far away, watching her.

Xu Yao realized that Yu Ru had noticed her, so she quickly ran towards her. "Miss Lin."

"Hmm." Yu Ru nodded slightly. "What is it?"

"It's nothing, it's just... I happened to see you and wanted to come over and say hello. By the way, the lawyer said I can get back the profits from those works, thanks to you for that." Xu Yao's face was a little red, as if she was shy. After stammering for a moment, as if she had made up her mind, she said, "I was thinking... I was thinking of inviting you to dinner sometime, is that alright?"

"No, you go ahead and do what you need to do. I'm leaving," Yu Ru said calmly.

"Oh, alright then. Thank you, Miss Lin." Xu Yao bowed deeply.

"Okay, goodbye."

Yu Ru didn't say much to her, turned around and got into the car with the bodyguard.

Inside the detention center,

Not long after Yu Ru left, Deng Huairou's husband and Cheng Youli came to visit.

Through the thick glass window, Deng Huairou looked at her son with teary eyes for a long time without saying a word. Finally, Cheng Youli spoke up, "Mom, where is this place? Dad said you can't come home whenever you want after you changed jobs. Why can't I come home when I work here, but I could when I worked before? Also, why did you cut your hair?"

Deng Huairou first glanced at the child's father, then looked at Cheng Youli with loving eyes and said gently, "Chengcheng, you're a little man now, aren't you?"

Cheng Youli nodded.

"Then Mommy is going to tell you some adult things, so listen carefully."

Cheng Youli nodded again, "Mom, go ahead and say it."

“Chengcheng, you kept asking me if I had bullied any classmates, and I told you no. Actually, I lied because I didn’t want to leave a bad impression on you, and I didn’t want you to think I was a bad mother. Now I’m telling you, I did bully my classmates, and I was really mean to them. So now I’m being punished. I’m not at work; I’ve been arrested by the police and taken to jail.”

Deng Huairou's lips trembled slightly as she forced back her surging tears, "Mom will be undergoing rehabilitation in prison for a very, very long time..."

At this point, the child's father interrupted her, "Deng Huairou! The child is still young, why are you telling him these things?"

“I’m going to say it! Chengcheng has the right to know. I want to tell him that it’s not that I abandoned him, it’s not that I’m always working and don’t come home to see him, it’s that I can’t be by his side anymore. Chengcheng is old enough to remember things. Do you want him to feel that his birth mother abandoned him and then be depressed forever?” Deng Huairou glared, almost shouting these words, but she didn’t, because the child was still there.

After saying that, she ignored the man and continued to talk to Cheng Youli: "Chengcheng, that's how it is. Mommy has to be educated by the police and stay in prison. Maybe Mommy won't be able to come out until you grow up. I want to tell you that no matter what happens, Mommy will always love you the most. I will never abandon you. As long as I can, I hope to always be by your side."

“Mom…” Cheng Youli also cried.

"Chengcheng, don't cry. We can meet again in the future. You can come here to see me."

“Hmm…” Cheng Youli nodded vigorously.

"Okay, Chengcheng, you must remember to come see your mother, otherwise your mother will miss you very much." Deng Huairou placed one hand on the glass. She really wanted to touch her son's head, but she couldn't reach out her hand.

"Mom, I will always remember you," Cheng Youli said earnestly, wiping away her tears with her arm.

"Then Mom can rest assured. Chengcheng, remember, Mom bullied your classmates for no reason. It was because the bad side of Mom came out, so I bullied innocent classmates, and that's why I was punished. Don't be like Mom. When you go to school, you must help each other with your classmates, learn to share, and don't bully the weak. You also can't let others bully you. If someone bullies you, you can tell the police, but the best way is to tell Dad immediately. Dad loves you very much, and he will protect you."

Deng Huairou's husband—or rather, her ex-husband—looked at her with a complicated expression. He knew Deng Huairou had never been a good person; she was arrogant, domineering, and a bully. So, she actually had a proper sense of right and wrong? It was just that she enjoyed bullying others.

"Mom, don't worry, I will take good care of myself."

"Okay. Chengcheng, Mom wants to ask you one last question."

"Mom, what's the problem?"

"Chengcheng, after you find out that Mommy is a bad person, will you hate Mommy?"

Cheng Youli nodded and then shook her head, "But no matter how much I hate my mother, she's still my mother. I can't abandon her."

Deng Huairou smiled, a genuine smile, "My good child, Mommy will never abandon you, Mommy loves you the most."

The time for communication between the two parties was limited. When the time was up, the people from the detention center came to expel him, and Deng Huairou had no choice but to say goodbye to his son in a hurry.

As soon as the child left, her face turned terribly gloomy, almost murderous. She muttered to herself, "Damn it, I should have just killed those people back then, so that there wouldn't be so much trouble now."

She still couldn't figure out which powerful figure wanted to frame her, or who was still after her. But even if she knew, there was nothing she could do; she was already in jail, and her husband had no power to bail her out. Only when she got out could she take revenge.

She made up her mind to reform herself in prison and strive to get out as soon as possible. Once she got out, she would definitely tear Xu Yao and the others who accused her to pieces.